Garment support



Oct. 20, 1970 J. M. HoLLlMAN 3,534,855

GARMENT SUPPORT Filed Oct. 7, 1968 ,/4 Flc-1| 74 3,6 lml ga lyg INVENTQR Jams M Hal/mmf;

United States Patent O M 3,534,865 GARMENT SUPPORT James M. Holliman, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor to James D. Holliman, Alford L. Laylield, and Grady R. Wetherington, all of Jacksonville, Fla.

Filed Oct. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 765,437 Int. Cl. A47f 5/00 U.S. Cl. 211-86 10 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A garment support which is selectively attachable 'tu and detachable from an end portion of an ironing board with a generally horizontal portion thereof being positioned upwardly of and outwardly beyond the attachment to the end portion of the ironing board and being adapted and arranged to suspend garment hangers therefrom whereby garments carried by the hangers freely hang outwardly of the end of the ironing board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to ironing boards, and more particularly pertains to an attachment for ironing boards in which a supportive member extends laterally of the longitudinal axis of an elongated ironing board and adjacently above and outwardly of an end portion of the ironing board to `which the attachment is mounted. The Supportive member is designed for supporting and suspending garments carried by hangers which are to be ironed or pressed, or which have recently been ironed or pressed to prevent wrinkling and soiling of the same.

Description of the prior art There have in the past been a number of ironing board attachments, article-supporting attachments for ironing boards, clothes supports for ironing boards, support racks for ironing boards, and other like attachments for ironing boards. Such prior art attachments for ironing boards are generally shown and disclosed in U.S. Pats. 1,191,782, 1,662,748, 1,871,813, 2,241,084, 2,554,983 and 2,857,693. Applicants invention herein disclosed is yet another type of attachment for an ironing board and an improved ironing board attachment over such prior art devices as for example shown in the above mentioned patents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A general object of the present invention is to provide an attachment for ironing boards in the nature of a support for garments or clothes, which are to be pressed or ironed, or which have been pressed or ironed, in spaced relation to the floor to prevent wrinkling and soiling of the clean garments.

Another object of the subject invention is to provide an attachment of the above described nature in which portions thereof are capable of being supported by the ironing board at an angular elevated position thereabove to suspend and support garments or clothes carried by hangers therefrom whereby the same hang freely downwardly therefrom and outwardly from an end portion of the ironing board.

Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a device of the above described nature which is readily attachable to and detachable from an end portion of the ordinary type ironing board and which is of a unitary, one-piece and compact construction.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an attachment for ironing boards of the above described nature which is inexpensive to produce and economical 3,534,865 Patented Oct. 20, 1970 to manufacture, rugged in construction, and durable and eflicient in use.

In general these and other objects are attained by providing a unitary, one-piece garment support selectively attachable to and detachable from an ironing board comprising a generally horizontal, substantially rigid member adapted to be mounted laterally of the longitudinal axis of an elongated ironing board, and a pair of generally upright substantially rigid members respectively attached to the opposite ends of the horizontal member. The garment support further includes means for releaseably attaching the pair of upright members to an end portion of an ironing board with the horizontal member being positioned upwardly of and outwardly -beyond the attachment to the end portion of the ironing board. The horizontal member of the support is adapted and arranged to suspend garment hangers therefrom whereby garments carried by the hangers freely hang outwardly of the end of the ironing board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation. may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a side elevational view of the improved garment support of this invention, shown mounted on an end portion of an ironing-board;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial top plan view of the arrangement shown in FIG. l, taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial bottom View taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side elevational View of the garment support of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With detailed reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 5 thereof, the improved garment support of this invention being generally referred to by reference numeral 10 is seen to include a generally horizontal top member or bar 12 and a pair of generally upright side members or depending bars 14 and 16, respectively attached to the opposite outer ends 18 and 20 of horizontal member 12. Members 12, 14 and 16 are generally rigid, but their arrangement and connection is such that upright or side members 14 and 16 can be flexed or moved outward from each other, such as to assume the dottedline position depicted at reference numeral 22 in FIG. 5. Also the connection and arrangement of these members 12, 1-4 and 16, is resilient, such that upright or side members 14 and 16 will return to their relaxed or unstressed position as indicated by reference numeral 24 in FIG. 5, after the same have been released from their expanded or stressed, dotted-line position 22.

The lower ends 26 and 28 of respective upright members 14 and 16 have respectively connected thereto attaching arrangements 30 and 32, for mounting or connecting garment support 10 to an end portion 34 of an ironing board 36, see FIGS. 1 through 4. Attaching or connecting arrangements 30 includes an elongated generally horizontal portion 38 which is attached t0 the lower end 26 of upright member 14, a generally upright portion 40 attached to portion 38, and a shorter generally horizontal portion 42 attached to upright portion 40. In like manner, attaching arrangement 32 includes an elongated generally horizontal portion 44 attached to the lower end 28 of generally upright member 16, a generally upright portion `46 attached to portion 44, and a shorter generally horizontal portion 48 attached to upright portion 46. Attaching arrangements 30 and 32 connect the garment support to the ironing board 36 and maintain the same in a generally upright position with respect thereto, as depicted in FIG. 1, with the ironing board end portion 34 being positioned between horizontal portions 38 and 42 of attaching arrangement 30 and horizontal sections 44 and 48 of attaching arrangement 32 and with the sides of the ironing board abutting upright sections 40 and 46 thereof.

Generally horizontal top member or bar 12 is provided with upturned end portions 50 and 52, respectively, adjacent its outer ends 18 and 20, which act as stop members to prevent hangers 54 placed on member 12 from sliding or falling off of the ends thereof.

With detailed reference to FIGS. l through 4, the improved garment support 10 of this invention is shown therein attached or connected to and mounted on an end portion 34 of an ironing board 36, of the type well known in the prior art. Ironing board 36 includes opposite end portions 34 .and 55 with end portion 34 having smoothly curved corners at 56 and 58. Often times end portion 55 is narrower and more severely curved than end portion 34 to aid in certain pressing and ironing procedures. Ironing board 36 is usually provided with a pair of legs 60 and 62 which are pivotally attached to the underside of the board and pinned together by a pivot at 64, such as to close and open in a scissors-like fashion whereby ironing board 36 and attached legs '60 and 62 may be folded into a generally at compact package or opened such that the legs support the surface 72 of the board at selected heights above the floor. Generally legs 60 and 62 are provided with rubber caps or ends 66 and 68 which contact the floor and prevent the ironing board from slipping thereon.

The top or board proper portion 70 of ironing board 36 includes an upper surface 72, a pair of depending generally upright side edges or walls 74 and 76 attached to the sides of upper surface 72, and a pair of inwardly directed and upturned lips 78 and 80 respectively connected to upright side walls 74 and 76. The top or board portion proper 70 of ironing board 36 is further generally covered with an ironing board cover 82 to provide a smooth fabric surface on which the garments may be ironed.

When using the improved garment support of this invention, the same is first mounted on an end portion, such as end portion 34, of ironing board 36. Garment support 10 is attached to and mounted on end portion 34 of ironing board 36 by spreading or separating generally upright members 14 and 16 from their at-rest position or unstressed condition 24 to their expanded or stressed condition 22, all as depicted in FIG. 5, and then placing the attaching arrangements 30 and 32 about the side edges of ironing board top 70.

When garment support 10 is properly positioned on the top board portion proper 70 of ironing board 36 elongated horizontal portions 38 and 44 are adjacent the top 72 of board portion 70, generally upright portions 40 and 46 are adjacent respective side walls 74 and 76, and short generally horizontal portions 42 and 48 are respectively adjacent inwardly directed lips 78 and 80 of top 70 of the ironing board 36, all as seen more clearly in FIG. 3. The height dimension between portions 38, 42, and 44, 48 of garment support 10 is slightly greater than the height dimensions of upright side walls 74 and 76 of ironing board top 70, such that the support can be readily slipped over the side edges of the board top and mounted thereon, but more particularly, such that horizontal or top member 12 of the support may be pivoted or rotated to the side and out of vertical alignment with the attachement to the ironing board and maintained in this pivoted position, as more readily seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Once the garment support has been attached to or mounted on end portion 34 or ironing board 36 and rotated to be maintained or xed in the position depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, with horizontal elongated portions 38 and 44 acting as stop means against the surface 72 of ironing board top 70 and shorter horizontal portions 42 and 48 act as stop means against inwardly directed lips 7 8 and 80 of the under side of ironing board top 70, hangers 54 bearing garments 84 may be positioned on the generally horizontal or top member 12 of garment support 10. In this manner, garments 84 which have been ironed or pressed and garments to be ironed or pressed carried by hangers 54 may be conveniently hung on horizontal member 12 to be supported and suspended thereby and hang freely downwardly therefrom and outwardly' of the end portion 34 of ironing board 36, with stop members and 52 preventing the same from falling olf of the ends of top bar 12 on to the oor therebelow.

While only a certain preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is intended that all such modifications be included within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A unitary, one-piece, garment hanger support selectively attachable to and detachable from a horizontally disposed and elongated ironing board top comprising a rigid generally horizontal, garment hanger support member for mounting laterally of a longitudinal axis of an elongated ironing board top, a pair of rigid generally upright members respectively attached to the opposite ends of said horizontal member, and means for releasably attaching said pair of upright members to an end portion of an ironing board top to position said upright members generally upright and to dispose said horizontal member in a position upwardly of and outwardly beyond said means for releasably attaching when so attached to an end portion of an ironing board top, said horizontal member being adapted and arranged to supportingly suspend garment hangers therefrom whereby garments carried by the hangers freely hang outwardly of an end of an ironing board top.

2. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said generally horizontal member includes opposite end portions, said opposite end portions of said horizontal member being upwardly inclined and forming stop means for garment hangers suspended from said horizontal member thereby inhibiting same from longitudinal disengaging movement from said horizontal member.

3. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said upright members include lower end portions, said means for releaseably attaching said upright members being connected to each said upright member lower end portion, said means for attaching including a generally upright element and a pair of generally parallel and horizontal elements connected to each said upright element, one of each said pair of horizontal elements being respectively connected to said upright member, each said upright element being adapted and arranged to be positioned about the sides of an ironing board top with said one horizontal element and the other horizontal element respectively engaging upper and lower surfaces of the ironing board top.

4. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said horizontal member is of a predetermined length, the distance between the lower end portions of sides of the ironing board top by the resiliency of said upright members.

5. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for releasably attaching are adapted to be attached to an ironing board top closely adjacent an end thereof and said pair of upright members are of sufficient length to locate said horizontal member outwardly beyond an ironing board end a distance generally at least equal to one-half the longitudinal dimension of a garment hanger to be suspended from said horizontal member.

6. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 3 wherein said horizontal member is of a predetermined length, the distance between said lower end portions of said upright members being less than said predetermined length and of a dimension less than the lateral dimension of an ironing board top to which the garment support is attachable, said upright members being resiliently flexible to permit said pair of upright members to be spread apart adjacent said lower end portions, each said upright element being adapted and arranged 4to be positionable about the sides of an ironing board top and thereafter being maintained in engagement with the sides of an ironing board top by the resiliency of said upright members.

7. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 1 wherein said upright members include lower end portions, said means for releasably attaching said upright members being connected to each said upright member lower end portion, said means for attaching including a pair of U- shaped brackets, one side element of each of said pair of U-shaped brackets being respectively connected to each said upright member lower end portion with the open sides of each pair of U-shaped brackets facing each other, the side elements of each said U-shaped bracket being adapted and arranged to be positioned about the sides of an ironing board top.

8. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 7 wherein said pair of U-shaped brackets are adapted to be attached to an ironing board top closely adjacent the end thereof, said upper element of each said pair of U-shaped brackets engaging the upper surface of an ironing board top, said lower element of each said pair of U-shaped brackets engaging the lower surface of an ironing board top, said upper element of each said pair of U-shaped brackets being positioned between said respective lower element and an ironing board end whereby said horizontal member is located outwardly beyond the end of an ironing'board.

9. The garment hanger support as defined in claim 7 wherein said horizontal member, said upright members and said U-shaped brackets are in the same place.

10. The garment hanger support as dened in claim 1 wherein said horizontal member includes opposite end portions, said opposite end portions of said horizontal member being upwardly inclined and forming stop means for the garment hangers suspended from said horizontal member thereby inhibiting same from longitudinal disengaging movement from said horizontal member, said means for releaseably attaching being adapted to be attached to an ironing board top closely adjacent the end thereof, and said pair of upright members being of sufficient length to locate said horizontal member outwardly beyond an ironing board end a distance generally at least equal to one-half the longitudinal dimension of a garment hanger to be suspended from said horizontal inember.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,464,674 3/1949 De Puy et al. 211--86 2,576,067 1l/ 1951 Chandler 211-123 X 2,640,600 6/1953 Farr 211--106 2,936,902 5/1960 Sinclair 211--86 RAMON S. BRITTS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 2l1-l06, 123 

